Learning To Stencil Backwards: The way to Reverse Stencil Glass

Craft Product Review: Martha Stewart Glass Paints™

It seems like glass painting is all the rage lately- and now Plaid is hopping on the bandwagon with Martha Stewart Glass Paints. As you may remember, I reviewed the Martha Stewart Craft Paints and they were purported to work with glass, too. (Actually, I tried them and they worked great.)

So why the specialized line? Well the Martha Stewart Glass Paints come in a number of finishes for all your glass-specific needs, including:

- Gloss Opaque

Translucent Frost

Fine Glitter

Metallic

Transparent

Here’s what it says on the Plaid website:

The centerpiece of the Martha Stewart Crafts Glass Paint Program is the Click here for more new, specifically formulated paint for glass and ceramic surfaces. Featuring a lovely palette of 120 colors hand-selected by Martha, the paint beautifully enhances glass and ceramics. Dishwasher-safe when cured, the paint comes in seven distinctive finishes: opaque - gloss, pearl, and metallic; transparent - gloss and liquid fill; translucent - fine glitter and frost. Fine tip allows for quick and easy application. Use for painting, silkscreening and outlining on glass surfaces. Weather resistant for indoor and outdoor use. Non-toxic. Permanent. Dishwasher safe on glass. USA-made.

Of course, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures. so here is a quick video overview with my swatches so you can see for yourself what the finishes are like!

And here are those photos so you can see them close up:

Handy notch in the cap for secure closing. Fine tip is included on all bottles of MS Glass Paint.

They all look opaque when wet, but dry clear.

Some of the finishes….

So, I painted a few votive cups to see how the finish would work. Here’s my gold-edged votive ( I just used a pouncer to apply it.)

A quick pounce around the rim makes for an elegant brushed-gold finish with a bit of texture.

There are two methods for curing the Martha Stewart Glass Paints.

The oven-curing directions are as follows: After drying for 1 hour, place in cool oven. Set temp to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 min. (Glass must heat gradually) After 30 min turn the oven off. Let glass cool completely in oven. Don’t use for 72 hours.

• • • NOTE: DO NOT OVEN-CURE THE FINE GLITTER FINISH. AIR-CURE ONLY!!!***

Air dry method: it will cure after 21 days and it will be dishwasher top-shelf safe!

Your glass needs to heat up slowly and cool down slowly to avoid shattering. It took my oven 3 hours to cool off, so actually the oven-curing method, while shorter, still turns out to be a 4-hour process. I just want you to know so that you are prepared!

So, after my votive came out of the oven, I gave it a wee scratch with my fingernail. As you can see in the photo below, it did scratch off:

The finish WILL scratch off, even when cured appropriately.

It was still warm, so I let it sit out over night to REALLY cool off… and tried again. Yup, it still scratches.

So this is just to let you know that while it’s a bake-on product and is dishwasher-safe ( I ran the votive through the dishwasher on the top shelf and it came out fine) it is NOT an enamel. Take care as to where you will put your design, because there is a chance it will wear off with use. On the plus side, you can remove the paint with a razor blade even after it is dry- great for fixing major craft-fails!

I played with the Martha Stewart Glass Paints and new silk-screens (that’s a review for another day) and found it lots of fun. I worked on some ceramic ornaments and a glass serving piece. (Only a sneak peek of them, as I have a full tutorial coming up next week!)

The MS Glass Paint adds a bit of texture, too. Nice.

Reminder: do NOT paint surfaces that will come in contact with food!

The reason to buy Martha Stewart Glass Paints is for the finishes. You have to love the ability to make faux Blue-Bell-Jar crafts, the fun metallics, and the spunky glitter paints. If you keep some of the limitations of the paints in mind, I think you’ll find it a fun tool in your craft box!

PS- See how I created my Serving Platter and Bowl here!

Currently each bottle retails for $3.49 USD for a 2 oz bottle which includes the fine point applicator tip. There are also boxed sets of 8 colors for $29.99 USD which actually turns out to be MORE than buying them individually- but if you want to buy the set you can save big by using a coupon!